Brexit: Ministers warn of 'chaos' if repeal bill rejected

MPs opposing the government’s EU repeal bill will be voting for a “chaotic” Brexit, ministers have warned.

Brexit Secretary David Davis said people did not “vote for confusion” in last year’s referendum and urged MPs to unite around the government’s plans.

MPs will hold a key vote on the legislation, which aims to end EU law’s supremacy in the UK, on Monday night.

Labour says it will oppose the bill, claiming it represents a “power grab” by the government.

The EU (Withdrawal) Bill, which the government previously referred to as the Great Repeal Bill, overturns the 1972 European Communities Act which took the UK into the then European Economic Community.

It will also convert all existing EU laws into domestic ones, to ensure there are no gaps in legislation on Brexit day.

Ministers say this process will ensure a smooth transition out of the EU, avoiding a “cliff-edge of uncertainty”.

But critics say ministers are also handing themselves sweeping powers to change laws without full parliamentary scrutiny.

Justice Minister Dominic Raab promised a “sensible conversation” over the use of so-called delegated powers, which the government says are needed to make minor tweaks to legislation to ensure the Brexit process runs smoothly.

Mr Raab said most of the bill would be subject to “maximum scrutiny”, telling Sky News: “This idea that there’s going to be no scrutiny or no accountability is just wrong.”

Former Conservative Chancellor Ken Clarke predicted the government would have to change the wording of the bill to deal with concerns about what he said was an unprecedented use of delegated powers.

‘Ready for day one’

Labour, which says the bill will give the government powers similar to those used by medieval monarchs, has tabled a series of amendments and will order its MPs to oppose it at second reading stage unless its changes are accepted.

When MPs began debating the bill on Thursday, Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said the bill would “reduce MPs to spectators”.

The SNP and Liberal Democrats also plan to vote against the bill but the government has the support of the Democratic Unionist Party, with whom they have a deal to secure a Commons majority.

The Lib Dems said the chances of inflicting a government defeat lay with Labour MPs following Jeremy Corbyn’s instruction to oppose the bill, and urged him to sack any frontbenchers who defied his orders.

On the eve of the vote, Mr Davis sought to warn Tory MPs against rebelling, saying: “A vote against this bill is a vote for a chaotic exit from the European Union.

“The British people did not vote for confusion and neither should Parliament.”

Mr Davis said the measures in the bill would mean the UK could leave the EU “safe in the knowledge that we are ready for day one of exit”.

“Without it, we would be approaching a cliff edge of uncertainty which is not in the interest of anyone,” he said.

MPs are also expected to vote on the timetable for line-by-line consideration of the bill, with debate expected to continue late into the night.